On the prospect of Henry partnering the Premier League's leading scorer Van Persie, Wenger said: "When they play together we will do very well. They are two good players who can give the ball and score, so why should they not do well together?

"He (Henry) still has his pace, because he always had exceptional pace. What you lose with age is the capacity to repeat it.

"He still has class and quality. I don't worry about him at all. He is there to help, nothing else.

"When we need him he will come on and play. He wants to help out for two months, because this is a club he loves.

"He has exceptional talent, he is a very intelligent man and has a desire to help the club, so it can only be positive."

Wenger pointed to the success of former players Sol Campbell and Jens Lehmann, who also returned to the club in supporting roles.

"Our fans are happy that players who have done well for the club want to help out again," Wenger said. "That is very positive. It shows that Arsenal have a special link with the players because we had Sol Campbell and Jens Lehmann who helped out for a while and did very well. Now we have Thierry, it is a continuity of the special link with our former players."

Wenger, despite insisting the Henry deal was "certain to happen" did sound one note of caution.

He said: "The agreement and the insurance (still needs to be done), I don't take care of that, but that is not completed and we need to respect all the agreements we need with the MLS to finalise the deal."